Brooklyn Community Foundation, the largest public philanthropy in the borough, has awarded its first round of 2011 grants totaling $2.3 million to 118 nonprofits working in five strategic areas of focus: Education and Youth Achievement, Arts for All, Caring Neighbors, Community Development, and Green Communities.

How green is your garden? If you live in Brooklyn—home to 50 percent of New York City’s community gardeners—chances are pretty good that your neighborhood is home to deep shades of kale, spinach and mint, with splashes of yellow corn, red tomato, and blueberry.

Across Brooklyn, high school seniors are readying for an occasion that we hope they remember with a sense of pride for the rest of their lives: Commencement. It’s a day to reflect on the achievements of the past while kicking off the start of a new, exciting chapter.

The We Are All Brooklyn (WAAB) Fellowship is currently accepting applications for a 10-month leadership development program, which are due by Monday, July 18, 2011. Now entering its fifth year, the WAAB Fellowship is dedicated to advancing the next generation of Brooklyn’s young diverse leaders.

Brooklyn Community Foundation received an unprecented number of proposals for its first grantmaking cycle of 2011. We thank all those who participated in the process. Our program staff is currently reviewing the incredible number of impressive organizations, and will be in touch shortly with those organizations who will receive funding for this first cycle.

The ITAVA Robotics campaign is helping raise $15,000 to send some of Brooklyn's youngest engineers, beneficiaries of the Foundation's Central Brooklyn STEM Initiative (CBSI), to participate in the World’s U.S.

On February 3, Brooklyn Community Foundation was honored by the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) for its work in helping to build stronger communities in the borough through its philanthropic investments in affordable housing, economic development, workforce training and a range of social, cultural and educational initiatives.